How can I EXTRACT NICOTINE from PLANTS OR TOBACCO ?

Answers

Best Answer: The second answerer uses an out of the lab book type method here, but this is not necessary.

Firstly, xylene many other solvents are carginogenic, causing genetic point mutations (that may mean cancer) after metabolism by cytochrome p450 in the liver. This solvent is not safe. I do realize that coffee is decaffeinated with this stuff. However, I also realize that this is a process being carried out at home.

Water alone will do the job. Just at tobacco to hot water, HEAT it to boiling, strain off solids, and then filter the stuff.

Boil down the remaining water until it is supersaturated. Then, let it cool slowly. Add a seed crystal or scrape the sides of the smooth container with a glass stirring rod (or a spoon if nothing else is available).

Filter the crystals that form in the solution with vacuum filtration. A good way to do this is by putting a coffee filter in a funnel, then putting the funnel spout-down in a running wet/dry vac.

soak the tobacco leaves in water and the solution will be a nicotine solution.. Works best on shredded and dried leaves like from or for making cigarettes and cigars.. chewing tobacco works OK too.
You can also soak filters from cigarettes in water to extract it from them...

You will need litmus paper, acid (such as "muriatic" [hydrochloric] or sulfuric), base (lye is good), and a nonpolar solvent (benzene, toluene, or xylene are all good.)
This is a simple acid/base extraction that is pretty standard for alkaloids (of which nicotine is one.) It will yield pure crystal nicotine HCl. If you use sulfuric acid then you will get nicotine sulfate. Both are salts of nicotine and are pharmacologically similar. The average cigarette contains 1 milligram of nicotine, so keep that in mind when dosing your final product with crystal. Nicotine is a very potent drug! It only takes a few milligrams to make someone sick.
Here it is:

1) Take tobacco and mix it with distilled water. Make the tobacco water acidic to litmus paper (only a few drops of HCl needed.) Pour off the water and save it. Repeat this two or three more times, until the water is not so dark. Combine all of the water extract. Now the acidic (protonated) form of nicotine is in the water. There is also a lot of other crap there, too.

2) Add lye-water dropwise to the acidic tobacco water until the water is alkaline to litmus. Now the acidic form of nicotine has been converted to the "free base" form (deprotonated.) It is now more soluble in a nonpolar solvent than water.

3) Add about a half volume of nonpolar solvent (benzene, toluene, xylene) to the alkaline water and gently mix. If they are mixed vigorously you will get an emulsion, which is a nightmare to separate if you don't have a centrifuge. Anyway, mix gently, such as slowly inverting the mixture in a closed bottle repeatedly. As long as two distinct layers are forming when the bubbles settle down you are in business. Pour off the top layer (the solvent.) Repeat this two more times. Combine the solvent. Now the free base nicotine is in the solvent and is relatively pure. But we need the salt of nicotine, not the free base.

4) Take about 2 volumes of distilled water and make them acidic by dropwise addition of acid. Use this water to extract out the nicotine from the solvent. By mixing the water with the solvent in the same manner described above the nicotine will now dissolve preferentially into the water. Extract out the nicotine with the acidic water 3 times. Combine the water. Now (slowly!) add dropwise lye water until the pH is neutral (7). Evaporate the water. The yellow crystals left behind are pure nicotine HCl. Protect them from light when storing as nicotine is photosensitive. Have fun!